A chance to ride New Orleans' historic streetcar along oak-lined St. Charles Avenue is something to look forward to. But that someone who uses a wheelchair can't take that ride is the subject a lawsuit filed Tuesday (April 19) in federal court.

Three men with varying levels of disability sued the city, the Regional Transit Authority and its private manager, Transdev, over lack of access to the St. Charles Streetcar under both the American with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.

"It's a gem. It's one of the top destinations in the city that's completely closed off limits to disabled people," said Andrew Bizer, the attorney for Mitchell Miraglia, Francis Falls and Thad Tatum. "And they've been having this fight for years, for years, and nothing has happened."

Transdev spokeswoman Patricia Bell Mercadel said the company couldn't comment on pending legal matters and a response from the RTA wasn't immediately available, but public transportation officials have pointed to the 13-mile line's place on federal and state lists of historic places as reason why they can't update their green Perley streetcars with wheelchair lifts.

"Modification of these historic streetcars is limited and requires consultation with and the prior approval of the State Historic Preservation Office," the RTA's website states. "RTA makes every effort to provide alternatives for the St. Charles line."

Bizer disputed that in the lawsuit, arguing that the RTA and Transdev do not run wheelchair-accessible buses or their ADA-compliant red streetcars along St. Charles.

He also pointed out that the St. Charles neutral ground doesn't have many curb cuts to let wheelchairs approach the streetcars.

The RTA suggests on its website that buses on Magazine, Freret and Leonidas streets can be alternatives to the St. Charles streetcar. But Bizer argued those routes are blocks from the famous thoroughfare and poor street conditions throughout much of Uptown make traveling that distance by wheelchair a formidable challenge.

The streetcar is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which is managed by the National Park Service and falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Interior. But that status doesn't stop modifications to an historic property, Park Service spokeswoman Cynthia Walton said Tuesday. It could, however, lead to a review of whether it falls under the rubric of historic anymore.

Bizer also said he found no evidence that the RTA asked the Federal Transit Administration for a waiver from the ADA for the St. Charles line.

Bizer said his clients may be open to compromise, such as running a red street car on St. Charles at regular intervals.

"Obviously, we would like every streetcar on every street to be compliant, but we realize that may not be tenable," he said.

The lawsuit follows another federal case Bizer brought last month against the city, RTA and Transdev complaining that most of New Orleans' bus stops do not make accommodations for people with physical disabilities. The RTA commissioned a study last year that found only 5.7 percent of its bus stops fully complied with the ADA.

Wheelchair access to the St. Charles streetcar has long been a bugbear to disability advocates. Jonah Bascle, the New Orleans comedian with muscular dystrophy who died in 2014, campaigned for mayor 2010 and City Council in 2013 solely on this issue. He led a group protesters to block the line for several hours in February 2010.

"I feel very strongly about this lawsuit because of the people that came before my clients and tried. Like Jonah Bascle -- nobody tried harder than him," Bizer said. "After all his hard work we're in the same place."